Cordial Glass

Art Historical Context

This delicate cordial glass, crafted by the New England Glass Company 1865 and 1870, exemplifies the ingenuity of American glassmaking during the post-Civil War industrial boom. Standing just 3¼ inches tall, it was designed for serving small measures of sweetened liqueurs, a popular after-dinner ritual in Victorian households. Produced in Cambridge, Massachusetts—one of the era's leading glass centers—the company pioneered techniques that brought elegant tableware within reach of the growing middle class. The medium, pressed glass, was revolutionary: molten glass was forced into intricate metal molds under high pressure, allowing for complex patterns and precise shapes at a fraction of handmade blown glass's cost. This innovation democratized luxury, transforming everyday objects into affordable art. Free from hand-forming imperfections, pressed pieces like this one boasted crisp details, often mimicking pricier cut crystal. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing and gifted by Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles in 1946, this cordial glass offers a window into 19th-century American domestic life, where industrial progress met refined taste. Visitors can appreciate how such unassuming items fueled a national identity in decorative arts.

About the Artist

New England Glass Company · 1818–1888

**The New England Glass Company: Pioneers of American Flint Glass** The New England Glass Company was established on February 16, 1818, in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, by a quartet of prominent local businessmen: Amos Binney, Edmund Munroe, Daniel Hastings, and Deming Jarves. Jarves, drawing on his dry goods background and talent for recruiting Europe's finest cutters, served as operational man...